1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to, in a bag-making and packaging machine that includes both a horizontal-type bag-making machine and a packaging machine where the two work in tandem, a method and apparatus for sequentially supplying bags manufactured by the horizontal-type bag-making machine to a belt conveyor of a conveyor magazine-type bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine without stocking bags temporarily.
2. Description of the Related Art
A horizontal-type bag-making machine winds off a belt-like film from a film roll provided horizontally, folds and overlays the belt-like film as the film is being fed in its longitudinal direction, seals the portions that will become the bag bottom and bag sides with a sealing device while intermittently feeding the film lying flat longitudinally within a horizontal plane, thus creating connected bags, and then the machine cuts off individual bags from the front end of the connected bags. Horizontal-type bag-making machines come in a one-row type as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 2004-42447, 2004-244085 and 2006-111346 (FIG. 8) (that makes one row of connected bags to feed out one bag) and a two-row type as disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Nos. 3840255 and 3105568 (that makes two rows of connected bags to feed out two bags in parallel).
A packaging machine includes those that include two bag-supply apparatus (as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 2004-42447 and 2004-244085), those that includes one bag-supply apparatus (as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2006-111346 (FIG. 8) and Japanese Patent No. 3105568), and those that includes four bag-supply apparatus (as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2002-308223). Packaging machines receive one bag each from one or a plurality of bag-supply apparatus (if a plurality of bag-supply apparatus are provided, a plurality of bags are received simultaneously) and simultaneously apply packaging processes to the bags.
Further, in the bag-making and packaging machine described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 2004-42447, 2004-244085 and 2006-111346 (FIG. 8), the orientation of the bags (the direction the bag mouth portion faces) manufactured by the bag-making machine is designed so as to match the orientation of the bags of the bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine. Accordingly, the bags manufactured by the bag-making machine are fed to the bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine “as is”, without changing the orientation.
Generally, in a bag-making and packaging machine, it is usual to install the bag-making machine and the packaging machine so that the orientation of the bags manufactured by the bag-making machine matches the orientation of the bags in the bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine. However, in certain situations, the layout of factory does not allow matching of the orientations of these machines. Further, horizontal-type bag-making machines with high processing capability are generally two-row or 2×two-row (four-row) systems. In these horizontal-type bag-making machines, the orientation of the manufactured bags differs as described in Japanese Patent No. 3840255 (in which the bag mouth portions face toward each other). Such cases require a means that changes the bag orientation between the bag-making machine and the bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine.
Just like there are one-row type, two-row type, four-row type and other systems in bag-making machines, packaging machines include either one or a plurality of bag-supply apparatuses. When a bag-making machine and a packaging machine of such types are combined to form a bag-making and packaging machine in which the two machines operate in tandem (matching the number of bags made by the bag-making machine to the number of bags processed by the packaging machine), it can naturally occur that the number of rows of bags fed out from the bag-making machine differs from the number of bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine. In such cases, a means that supplies bags evenly to all bag-supply apparatuses and makes up for the difference in the number of rows and number of units between the bag-making machines and bag-supply apparatus is required.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 2004-42447 and 2004-244085 disclose a bag-supplying and packaging machine in which a one-row bag-making machine and a packaging machine that has two bag-supply apparatus are combined. Neither, however, disclose what to do when the orientation of the bags manufactured by the bag-making machine differs from the orientation of the bags in the bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine or what to do when the bag-making machine is a two-row type.
Further, Japanese Patent No. 3105568 discloses a bag-making and packaging machine in which a two-row bag-making machine and a packaging machine that has one bag-supply apparatus are combined. The invention therein is, however, limited to a means that changes two rows into one row, and it assumes that the orientation of the bags manufactured by the bag-making machine matches the orientation of the bags in the bag-supply apparatus of the packaging machine; and furthermore it is a type that stacks the bags and stocks them as bundles, and there is no consideration given to an application to a conveyor magazine-type bag-supply apparatus.